.117 


' 


THE   CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES  OF  THE 
QUILEUTE    INDIANS1 

i*cV^ 

BY  LEO  J.°FRACHTENBERG 

INTRODUCTORY 

PROBABLY  the  most  important  (and  complicated)  feature 
in  the  social  life  of  the  tribes  of  the  North  Pacific  coast,  in 
addition  to  the  potlatch,  are  the  winter  ceremonials  (ritual 
dances,  secret  societies)  which  have  thus  far  been  observed  to 
exist  among  the  Tlingit,  Haida,  Tsimshian,  Bella-Coola,  Kwakiutl, 
Nootka,  Comox,  Pentlatch,  Sanitch,  Lkungen,  Clallam,  and 
Quileute  Indians.  These  ceremonials  consist  of  a  series  of  dances, 
held  during  the  winter  months,  and  rendered  at  the  initiation 
ceremonies  of  novitiates  into  the  secret  societies  which  are  the 
owners  and  keepers  of  these  dances.  They  have  attained  their 
fullest  development  among  the  Kwakiutl  Indians,  undoubtedly 
because  of  the  intricate  totemic  organization  of  this  tribe.  Whether 
these  ceremonials  originated  with  the  Kwakiutl  Indians  and  were 
spread  by  them  among  the  other  neighboring  tribes,  is  a  question 
which  will,  perhaps,  never  be  solved.  As  was  pointed  out  by  Boas,2 
all  ceremonials  were  in  the  main  derived  from  one  source,  namely 
from  the  Kwakiutl  Indians.  But, 

it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  no  secret  societies  existed  [among  the  other 
tribes]  before  the  Kwakiutl  exerted  their  influence  over  the  people  of  the  [North 
Pacific]  coast. 

However,  the  fact  remains  that  wherever  these  ceremonials  have 
been  met  with,  their  main  features  and  even  nomenclature  were 
patently  Kwakiutl;  moreover,  in  a  number  of  instances,  the  partici 
pants  were  able  to  point  out  that  certain  features  were  introduced 
within  recent  times  from  sources  which  ultimately  go  back  to  the 

1  Published  with  the  permission  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
2 Franz  Boas,  "The  Kwakiutl  Indians,"  in  Report  of  U.  S.  National  Museum  for 
1895  (Washington,  1897),  p.  66 1. 

320 


FRACHTENBERG]     CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES  OF  QUILEUTE  INDIANS      321 

original  Kwakiutl  source.  In  other  words,  while  most  of  the  tribes 
of  the  North  Pacific  coast  may  have  had  secret  societies  and  attend 
ing  rituals  of  their  own,  they  borrowed  the  main  features  of  the 
winter  ceremonials  either  directly  or  indirectly  from  the  Kwakiutl, 
each  tribe  adapting  and  developing  them  in  accordance  with  the 
peculiarities  of  its  social  organization  and  with  the  original  elements 
of  its  own  existing  societies. 

This  process  of  acculturation  is  perhaps  best  shown  in  the  de 
velopment  of  the  ceremonial  societies  of  the  Quileute  Indians.  It 
is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  paper  to  treat  the  Quileute  ceremonial 
societies  in  their  relation  to  the  corresponding  Kwakiutl  ceremonies. 
This  will  be  done  systematically  and  extensively  in  a  paper  dealing 
with  the  general  problem  of  Quileute  ethnology.  The  object  of 
this  article  is  to  give  a  brief  description  of  the  main  features  of  the 
Quileute  ceremonial  societies  and  rituals  and  to  call  attention  to 
those  elements  which  have  not  been  found  in  the  societies  of  the 
other  tribes  and  which  must  be  looked  upon  as  distinctively  Quileute 
in  origin. 

THE  QUILEUTE  CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES 

The  Quileute  Indians  observed  the  following  rituals,1  based 
upon  the  principle  of  ceremonial  societies: 

1.  The  Tlokwali  or  Wolf  Ritual  (Ld'kwali).     This  society,  as 
the  mere  name  implies,  is  of  Kwakiutl  origin,  having  been  intro 
duced    among   the    Quileute   within    comparatively    recent   years 
through  their  contact  with  the  Makah  (Nootka)  Indians  of  Neah 
Bay.     It  has  the  largest  membership  and  constitutes  the  so-called 
Warrior  Society  among  the  Quileutes. 

2.  The  Tsayeq  or  Fish  Ritual  (tsfa'yeq),  also  of  Kwakiutl  origin, 
introduced  within  recent  times  through  the  medium  of  the  Makah 
Indians.2     In  point  of  membership  it  ranks  next  to  the  Tlokwali 
and  its  membership  is  primarily  made  up  of  fishermen  and  seal- 
hunters. 


1  The  terms  "ritual,"  "ceremonial  society,"  "initiation-ceremony"  are  so  closely 
interwoven  as  practically  to  form  synonyms. 

2  The  Kwakiutl  term  ts'ets'aeqa  (singular  ts'a'eqa)  means  "secrets"  and  is  used  to 
denote  "the  period  of  the  winter  ceremonial"  and  also  the  ceremonial  itself.     See 
Boas,  op.  cit.,  p.  418. 

21 


322  AMERICAN   ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  23,  1921 

3.  The   Hunting   Ritual   of  the   Hunter  Society   (qe'L/a'akwdl 
"going  up  the  river")   is  next  in  importance.     This  is  the  only 
original   Quileute  society,   and,   as  will   be  pointed  out  later  on, 
served  as  a  model  in  the  adaptation  of  all  other  ceremonial  societies 
introduced  through  the  influence  of  the  neighboring  tribes.     Pri 
marily  only  hunters  could  become  members  of  this  society. 

4.  The    Ritual    of    the    Whale-Hunters'    Society    (siba'xulayo' 
"singing  for  the  grease")  is  a  whaling  ceremonial  recently  adopted 
by  the  Quileute  from  the  Makah   Indians.     The  adoption   took 
place  some  seventy  years  ago  simultaneously  with  the  introduction 
of  whale-hunting.     Only   actual   whale-hunters   were   entitled   to 
membership  in  this  society  whose  list  was  very  small,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  a  limited  number  of  Quileute  Indians  practised  whale- 
hunting. 

5.  The  Ritual  of  the  Weather  Society  (tcala'layo'  "singing  from 
the  south")  is  a  recent  introduction  from  the  Quinault  Indians. 
All  songs  of  this  society  were  rendered  in  the  Quinault  language, 
hence    the    term    "singing    from    the    south."     Membership    was 
restricted  to  those  who  had  acquired  a  guardian-spirit  enabling 
them  "to  change  the  weather." 

Before  proceeding  to  a  detailed  description  of  the  rituals  con 
nected  with  each  of  these  societies,  it  will  be  well  to  describe  at 
first  those  elements  (membership,  duration,  paraphernalia,  etc.) 
that  are  common  to  all;  deviations  from  the  general  scheme,  wher 
ever  such  occur,  being  pointed  out  during  the  description  of  that 
particular  ceremonial  which  shows  such  distinctive  features. 

All  rituals  were  held  during  the  winter  months  and  took  place 
whenever  a  new  member  was  initiated  into  a  ceremonial  society. 
Each  ceremonial  lasted  (with  the  exception  of  the  last  one)  six 
days,  and  one  of  its  most  prominent  features  was  the  distribution 
(on  the  last  day)  of  presents  on  the  part  of  the  family  of  the  novitiate 
among  the  other  members  of  the  society.  This  "potlatch"  feature 
has  assumed  such  importance  among  the  Quileute  Indians,  that 
one  is  almost  tempted  to  maintain  that  the  ceremonial  societies 
served  the  important  purpose  of  facilitating  the  giving  and  re 
ceiving  of  presents.  The  amount  of  a  present  to  be  given  to  a 


FRACHTENBERG]     CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES  OF  QUILEUTE  INDIANS     323 

particular  member  was  not  based  upon  the  social  rank  of  the  re 
ceiver  but  was  predicated  upon  the  number  of  ceremonials  previously 
arranged  by  that  person ;  that  is  to  say,  upon  the  number  of  members 
(in  accordance  with  the  number  of  children)  which  that  person 
(head  of  the  family)  had  in  the  society.  Thus  if  a  member  of  a 
given  society  had  three  children  who  were  also  members  of  that 
society,  he  received  four  presents  (one  for  himself  and  one  for  each 
of  his  three  children).  Of  course,  presents  received  during  those 
ceremonials  were  returnable  either  to  the  giver  himself  or  to  his 
descendants  (or  family).  If  the  receiver  died  before  he  was  able- 
to  pay  this  obligation,  then  his  children  (family)  were  charged 
with  the  duty  of  returning  the  same  number  of  presents  or  even 
more  gifts  of  greater  value.  Because  of  this  potlatch  feature,, 
each  head  of  a  family,  in  order  to  insure  future  wealth  to  his  chil 
dren,  strove  to  enroll  them  in  as  many  societies  as  was  possible — 
the  novitiate  in  many  cases  being  a  mere  infant.  Membership 
into  any  of  these  societies  was  open  to  males  and  females. 

Each  society  had  two  types  of  membership:  (i)  members  whose: 
affiliation  was  purchased  for  them  by  their  fathers  (or  mothers) 
upon  the  arranging  of  a  ceremonial,  and  (2)  those  who  were  in 
itiated  as  members  because  they  had  obtained  a  guardian-spirit  for 
that  particular  society.  No  social  distinction,  however,  was  made 
between  these  two  types  of  membership,  at  least  as  far  as  the 
quantity  or  quality  of  the  presents  given  to  them  was  concerned 
although  a  linguistic  distinction  obtained  between  them,  a  guardian 
member  being  called  he'ts/dq,  and  a  plain  member  het/aya'sldqa* 
"he  is  sung  for."  Each  member  of  a  society  was  called  tcfa'a,, 
"ripe"  in  contradistinction  to  the  non-members  who  were  called: 
xwela1  "raw"  and  who  could  not  participate  in  any  of  the  cere 
monials  except  as  spectators,  and  who  were  not  eligible  to  receive 
gifts.  The  initiation  ceremonies  varied  somewhat  in  accordance 
with  the  two  types  of  membership;  that  is  to  say,  they  were  different 
for  a  het/aya'sldqa'  (plain  member)  and  for  a  he'ts/dq  (a  member  who 
had  a  guardian-spirit) .  These  ceremonies  will  be  described  later  on. 

Each  society  had  its  distinct  guardian-spirits,   and  the  color 
applied  to  the  facial  painting  and  the  headgear  of  the  participants 


324  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  23,  1921 

(members)  differed  for  each  society.  Only  members  who  had 
guardian-spirits  were  entitled  to  wear  the  headgear  and  to  display 
the  ceremonial  facial  paintings  that  pertained  to  their  society. 
The  headgear  consisted  of  head-rings  made  of  shredded  cedar  bark 
dyed  black  or  brown.  These  head-rings  were  different  for  each 
society.  In  the  same  way,  each  society  had  its  special  facial  paint 
ings,  every  member  using  a  distinct  form,  in  accordance  with  the 
instructions  given  him  by  his  or  her  guardian-spirit.  The  drums 
that  were  used  during  the  initiation  ceremonials  consisted,  in  former 
days,  of  cedar  chests,  square  or  oblong,  and  manipulated  by  the 
hands  and  feet  of  the  drummer.  More  recently  these  cedar  boxes 
were  replaced  by  circular  drums  consisting  of  cedar  hoops  over 
which  was  stretched  deer  skin  fastened  to  the  hoop  by  means  of 
wooden  pegs.  The  rattles  consisted  of  two  pieces  of  wood  hollowed 
out  and  filled  with  small  pebbles  and  fastened  together  by  means 
of  wild  cherry  bark.  The  shape  and  coloring  of  these  rattles  varied 
for  each  society.  Whistles  were  made  of  cedar  and  were  similar  to 
those  used  among  the  other  tribes  of  this  aiea. 

Each  initiation  ceremony  was  presided  over  and  in  the  hands 
of  a  set  of  officials  whose  position  was  semi-hereditary,  dependent 
upon  the  fulfilling  of  certain  obligations.  Thus,  a  son  assumed  the 
official  position  of  his  father  (or  uncle)  and  a  daughter  that  of  her 
mother  (or  aunt)  as  soon  as  he  or  she  gave  a  feast  which  was  re 
garded  as  sufficient  to  justify  the  individual  in  question  in  assuming 
the  prerogatives  of  his  or  her  predecessor.  Failure  to  comply  with 
this  custom  constituted  sufficient  reason  for  the  tribe  to  appoint 
to  the  vacancy  a  person  outside  of  the  family  of  the  last  incumbent. 
The  names  of  these  officials  and  their  functions,  in  the  order  of  their 
importance,  were  as  follows: 

I.  The  Fathers  (hehe'bilists!  "starters"),  two  in  number,  held 
their  office  by  virtue  of  having  obtained  a  special  guardian-spirit 
(taxe'lit)  for  it,  but  subject  to  the  previously  mentioned  regulations. 
It  was  their  duty  to  give  all  necessary  signals  during  the  ceremonial, 
to  start  all  songs,  and  to  cut  up  and  divide  the  food  among  the 
guests.  They  sat  near  the  fireplace,  facing  the  door.  This  office 
was  considered  a  high  honor,  but  no  special  privileges  were  con- 


FRACHTENBERG]     CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES  OF  QUILEUTE  INDIANS     325 

nected  with  it,  except  that  all  the  food  left  over  from  a  ritual  became 
the  property  of  the  Fathers. 

2.  The    Firemen   (k/e'iya'q/w&yo*  "fire-owners"),  also  two  in 
number,  attended  to  the  fire  in  the  house  in  which  the  ceremonial 
was  held.     For  this  service  they  received  some  special  gifts  from 
the  family  of  the  novitiate. 

3.  The    Door-keeper    (tla'tipata'qlwayo'    "door-owner")    stood 
guard  at  the  door  seeing  to  it  that  no  outsider  entered  the  house. 
He  closed  and  opened  the  door  at  a  signal  given  him  by  one  of  the 
Fathers.     He  also  was  rewarded  at  the  conclusion  of  the  ritual 
writh  a  special  present  from  the  family  of  the  novitiate. 

4.  The  Water-carrier  (k/wa'ya'aq/wayo'  "water-owner")  passed 
drinks  to  the  participants  whenever  necessary.     It  was  considered 
a  bad  breach  of  etiquette  for  any  member  to  help  himself  to  water 
without  having  first  obtained  permission  from  the  Water-carrier. 
Whenever  this  happened,  water  was  refused  to  all  members  until 
the  Water-carrier  had  been  appeased  by  the  offender  by  some  gift. 
A  similar  custom  prevailed,  whenever   anyone    helped  himself  to 
the  food  or  threw  a  stick  of  wood  into  the  fire  without  permission 
of  the  Fathers  or  Firemen.     As  soon  as  such  an  infraction  of  the 
rules  occurred,  the  Door-keeper  was  informed  of  it  and  promptly 
closed  the  door  and  kept  it  shut  until  the  fine  was  paid  to  the  man 
against  whose  office  the  crime  was  committed. 

5.  The  Face-painter  (ti'e'li'tslHat  "painter  of  faces")  painted 
the  faces  of  the  members  of  the  society.     This  office  was  always 
held  by  a  woman.     She  sat  near  the  entrance,  on  the  left  side  of 
the  house,   and  had  before  her  large  wooden   dishes  filled  with 
paints.     As  each  person  was  about  to  enter  the  house,  she  inquired 
his  particular  design,  whereupon  she  proceeded  to  paint  the  face  in 
accordance  with  the  instructions  given  her. 

Having  discussed  those  elements  of  the  rituals  that  are  more 
or  less  common  to  all,  we  shall  now  proceed  to  describe  the  manner 
in  which  each  ritual  was  held,  beginning  with  the  Tlokwali;  and 
inasmuch  as  the  initiation  ceremony  varied  in  accordance  with 
the  two  types  of  membership  (see  above)  we  shall  first  describe  the 
initiation  of  a  young  child  whose  parents  arranged  for  a  ceremonial 


326  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  23,  1921 

in  order  to  purchase  for  their  offspring  membership  in  the  Tlokwali 
society. 

THE  TLOKWALI  (WOLF  RITUAL) 

Before  announcing  his  decision  to  purchase  for  his  child  member 
ship  in  the  Tlokwali  Society,  the  head  of  the  family  ascertains  first 
whether  enough  presents  are  available.  For  that  purpose  he  holds 
a  consultation  with  all  members  of  that  family  who  are  related  to 
it  by  blood.  If  the  father  of  the  intended  novitiate  does  not  possess 
enough  wealth,  the  other  members  of  the  family,  aid  him  by  con 
tributing  additional  gifts.  The  next  step  is  to  ascertain  how  many 
gifts  each  member  of  the  Tlokwali  is  entitled  to  receive.  This  is 
done  by  calling  into  consultation  the  chief  of  the  tribe  and  the 
heads  of  the  most  important  families.  Upon  the  completion  of 
this  task,  two  relatives  of  the  prospective  novitiate  go  around  the 
village  throwing  handfuls  of  small  pebbles  on  the  roofs  of  the  various 
houses.  This  serves  as  a  warning  to  the  inmates  that  a  Tlokwali 
is  about  to  be  held  and  to  get  themselves  ready  for  it.  Upon  the 
return  of  the  two  messengers  all  male  members  of  the  family  of  the 
prospective  novitiate  betake  themselves,  in  the  evening,  to  the 
woods  near  the  village  or  to  the  burial  grounds,  where  for  about  an 
hour  they  imitate  the  cry  of  the  wolf,  or  that  of  the  horned  owl 
(two  of  the  most  important  guardian-spirits  of  the  Tlokwali  Society). 

On  the  next  day  two  messengers,  dressed  in  their  Tlokwali 
garments  and  painted  accordingly  (see  below)  go  from  house  to 
house,  carrying  a  rattle  and  a  bundle  of  sticks,  the  latter  represent 
ing  the  gifts  to  be  received  by  each  participant.  The  messengers 
do  not  sing;  they  merely  shake  their  rattles.  Upon  entering  each 
house,  they  pull  out  from  the  bundle  a  previously  indicated  number 
of  sticks  (each  stick  represents  the  value  of  one  gift)  and  touching 
the  head  of  the  family  with  them,  they  whisper,  "You  are  invited 
by  So-and-so  to  a  Tlokwali  tonight." 

The  Tlokwali  is  always  held  in  a  special,  commodious  structure, 
belonging  to  the  whole  village  and  known  as  the  Tlokwali-house. 
In  the  evening  of  the  same  day  in  which  the  invitations  are  made 
the  members  begin  to  assemble.  At  first  only  the  women  and 
old  men  appear  in  the  Tlokwali-house.  All  other  members  of  the 


FRACHTENBERG]     CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES  OF  QUILEUTE  INDIANS     327 

Tlokwali  betake  themselves  first  to  the  woods  where  they  imitate 
the  cries  and  actions  of  the  wolf.  After  a  while  they  proceed  to 
the  Tlokwali-house  whistling,  crying,  and  behaving  themselves 
like  wolves.  Before  entering  the  house,  they  walk  around  it 
shouting,  pounding  the  walls  with  sticks,  and  throwing  rocks  at 
them.  Finally  they  enter,  led  by  two  men  who  wear  wolf  masks 
and  the  ends  of  whose  blankets  are  tied  in  such  a  way  as  to  represent 
the  tail  of  the  wolf.  The  others  carry  salal-bushes  on  their  shoulders 
and  are  provided  with  whistles  of  various  sizes.  All  crawl  in  on 
their  hands  and  feet  (also  in  imitation  of  the  wolf).  Before  the 
actual  entrance  of  the  "Wolves,"  those  inside  the  house  begin  to 
sing,  or  rather  recite: 

Qwayd:  tilkiulswdi,  qwayd:  tukim-swdi,  qwayd:  tukunswal,  huuuu. 

When  the  singers  reach  the  word  huuuu,  the  Doorkeeper  throws 
the  door  open,  whereupon  the  Wolves  rush  in,  shouting,  blowing 
their  whistles,  and  shaking  the  salal-bushes.  They  walk  to  the 
right  until  they  reach  the  northeast  corner  of  the  house,  where  they 
stop.  Upon  a  signal  from  the  Fathers  they  stop  making  noises 
and  throw  themselves  in  a  pile,  one  on  top  of  the  other.  After 
a  few  minutes  the  Fathers  again  begin  the  recitation  of  the  previous 
song  which  is  soon  taken  up  by  the  whole  assembly.  This  serves 
as  a  signal  for  the  Wolves  to  get  up.  They  arise  and  rush  out  of 
the  house  in  the  same  manner  in  which  they  entered  it. 

Outdoors  the  Wolves  discard  their  masks,  whistles,  and  salal- 
bushes  and,  dressed  in  their  everyday  garments,  they  dance  into 
the  house.  Here  they  seat  themselves,  wherever  they  please, 
regardless  of  social  rank.  The  women  usually  sit  on  one  side  of 
the  house,  while  the  men  occupy  the  other  side.  After  all  are 
seated,  the  singing  commences.  The  songs  rendered  on  these 
occasions  are  always  Tlokwali  songs,  that  is  to  say  songs  which 
pertain  to  this  ceremonial.  These  songs  may  be  either  inherited 
or  received  from  the  guardian-spirit.  The  first  songs  rendered  are 
those  by  the  Fathers ;  then  the  first  member  seated  in  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  house  recites  his  song;  he  is  followed  by  the  individual 
sitting  next  to  him,  and  so  on  until  the  last  woman  in  the  northwest 
corner  is  reached.  Very  young  children  and  slaves  are  passed  up. 


AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.(  23,  1921 

Each  song  is  rendered  by  two  people  and  is  accompanied  by  the 
shaking  of  the  ceremonial  rattles  (held  by  the  singers  in  their  right 
hands)  and  by  the  beating  of  the  drums.  The  singers  usually 
start  the  song  and  are  soon  joined  by  the  whole  assembly.  Upon 
the  completion  of  the  song  the  singers  pass  the  rattles  to  the  next 
pair,  and  so  on  until  they  come  back  to  the  Fathers  in  whose  charge 
they  remain  throughout  the  ceremonial.  The  drums  are  the 
property  of  the  whole  tribe  and  are  always  kept  in  the  Tlokwali- 
house.  Those  who  manipulate  them  are  given  small  presents  by 
the  family  of  the  novitiate.  The  rattles  are  made  of  vine-maple 
and  are  shaped  like  a  raven;  they  are  painted  black,  except  the 
breast,  bill,  and  eyes,  which  are  painted  red.  The  rattles  are 
made  and  owned  by  those  members  who  have  the  raven  as  their 
guardian-spirit. 

As  soon  as  the  singing  is  over,  the  Fathers  take  the  novitiate 
between  them  and  lead  him  once  around  the  fire,  starting  from  the 
right  and  going  to  the  left.  As  they  walk  thus,  the  Fathers  shout, 
whistle,  throw  up  sticks  of  fire,  tear  mats,1  etc.,  while  the  other 
members  of  the  society  beat  their  feet  against  the  floor  or  benches. 
Upon  arriving  at  the  left  side  of  the  house,  the  procession  stops. 
The  Fathers  begin  a  song  which  is  followed  by  a  general  dance  of 
short  duration.  After  the  dance  the  child  is  taken  back  to  its 
mother.  If  the  novitiate  is  too  young  to  walk,  the  mother  carries 
him  on  her  back  while  she  is  being  led  around  the  house  by  the 
Fathers.  This  ceremony  is  called  la'qlale'l  "going  to  drive  out," 
and  it  takes  place  whenever  a  novitiate  desires  to  purchase  member 
ship  in  the  Tlokwali  society.  Its  apparent  purpose  is  to  visualize 
the  prospective  member  to  all  other  members.  After  this  ceremony 
is  over,  the  Firemen  add  more  fuel  to  the  fire,  whereupon  food 
is  distributed  among  those  present.  This  is  done  by  the  Fathers 
who,  should  the  occasion  demand  it,  may  choose  some  assistants. 
This  ends  the  ritual  for  the  first  night. 

On  the  morning  of  the  second  day  the  messengers  invite  the 
people  again,  without,  however,  throwing  pebbles  on  the  roofs  of 

1  These  "bad  actions"  of  the  Fathers  correspond  completely  to  the  acts  committed 
by  the  members  of  the  ndLemaL  (Kwakiutl)  or  sa'nsk  (Nootka)  societies.  See  Boas 
op.  cit.,  p.  468. 


FRACHTENBERG]     CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES  OF  QUILEUTE  INDIANS     329 

the  houses.  Nor  do  they  take  the  bundles  of  sticks  along,  as  is 
done  on  the  first  day.  In  the  evening  all  members  assemble  at 
the  Tlokwali-house.  The  spectacular  entrance  of  the  Wolves  is 
omitted.  As  the  members  come  in,  their  faces  are  painted  by  the 
Face-painter.  The  following  are  the  most  prevalent  designs:  the 
whole  face  painted  black;  the  left  side  black  and  the  right  side  white, 
or  vice  versa;  both  sides  of  the  face  black  with  a  white  stripe  in 
the  middle,  from  the  center  of  the  forehead  to  the  point  of  the 
chin ;  the  upper  part  of  the  face  black  and  the  lower  half  red.  These 
four  designs  are  used  only  by  the  so-called  "spirit-men"  (he'ts/aq)\ 
that  is  to  say,  by  those  who  have  a  Tlokwali  guardian-spirit.  All 
other  members  have  only  black  finger-marks  on  their  cheeks. 
The  Face-painter  performs  the  duties  of  her  office  on  the  second  and 
each  subsequent  night.  On  the  first  night  each  member  paints 
his  own  face  before  starting  for  the  ceremonial  house. 

As  soon  as  the  painting  ceremony  is  over,  the  members  seat 
themselves,  whereupon  the  singing  is  started  by  the  Fathers.  From 
now  on  the  ceremony  takes  exactly  the  same  course  as  on  the  first 
night,  and  is  likewise  concluded  with  a  general  feast.  The  same 
rules  are  observed  during  the  third  and  fourth  nights. 

On  the  fifth  night  the  members,  after  having  undergone  the 
usual  painting  ceremony,  take  their  accustomed  seats.  On  that 
night  the  novitiate  is  represented  by  a  woman  (tci'aflftldt  "pro 
tector  of  people")  chosen  and  rewarded  by  the  novitiate's  family. 
(The  reasons  for  this  substitution  will  appear  later  on.)  She  is 
seated  on  a  mat  placed  in  the  back  of  the  house  opposite  the  door 
and  is  accompanied  by  five  or  six  other  women  and  by  the  man 
(or  woman)  who  gave  the  Tlokwali.  In  front  of  them,  at  a  distance 
of  about  fifteen  feet,  is  placed  a  platter  filled  with  dried  black 
salmon  which  has  been  boiled,  mashed,  and  mixed  with  whale-oil 
on  the  same  morning.  In  front  of  this  platter  and  facing  the  people 
on  the  mat,  is  seated  a  powerful  medicine-man;  he,  in  turn,  is  faced 
by  two  shamans  of  lesser  prowess  who  sit  behind  the  platter  with 
their  backs  turned  to  the  people  on  the  mat  and  who  serve  as  his 
assistants  during  the  coming  ceremony.  This  ceremony  is  called 
alitse'licel  "going  to  feed  him"  and  takes  place  in  order  to  give 


33°  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  23,  1921 

the  Tlokwali-giver  an  opportunity  to  partake  of  some  food.  Ac 
cording  to  custom,  the  Tlokwali-giver  must  abstain  from  any  food 
(sic/)  for  five  days.  He  can  eat  only  after  he  has  tasted  of  the  boiled 
and  dried  black  salmon. 

As  soon  as  everything  is  ready  for  the  feeding  ceremony,  the 
leading  shaman  begins  his  magic  song  in  which  he  extols  the  prowess 
of  his  guardian-spirit.  As  he  sings,  the  women  on  the  mat  register 
by  various  motions  excessive  hunger,  while  the  other  members 
stamp  their  feet  against  the  floor  and  benches  and  make  all  sorts  of 
noises.  Then  the  shaman,  still  singing,  takes  a  handful  of  the  food 
from  the  platter  and  shows  it  to  the  people.  Then  he  applies  his 
magic  power  to  it,  spitting  on  his  hands  and  rolling  the  food  be 
tween  his  palms  until,  by  a  legerdemain  trick,  the  food  disappears. 
Thereupon  he  throws  the  (invisible)  food  to  one  of  his  assistants 
who  "catches"  it  and  passes  it  to  the  third  shaman.  This  process 
is  repeated  several  times.  At  last  the  first  assistant  takes  the  food 
to  one  of  the  women  on  the  mat,  puts  it  into  her  mouth,  and,  by 
motions  with  his  hand,  shows  how  he  brings  it  down  to  her 
stomach.  As  soon  as  the  woman  has  "swallowed"  the  food,  she 
faints,  whereupon  the  other  occupants  of  the  mat  are. fed  in  the 
same  way.  Then  the  shaman  stops  singing,  and  the  occupants  of 
the  mat  are  covered  with  a  blanket.  Thereupon  the  Fathers  make 
preparations  for  the  la'qlale'l  ("going  to  drive  it")  ceremony  whose 
sole  aim  is  to  wake  the  women  up.  The  Fathers  start  a  certain 
song  and,  as  the  song  progresses,  the  women  are  seen  to  tremble, 
and  gradually  they  roll  over  and  raise  themselves  on  their  hands. 
Thereupon  a  man  called  kU'e'lat  ties  a  rope  around  the  waist  of 
each  kneeling  woman.  The  women  rise  and,  led  by  the  k/i'e'lat, 
walk  around  the  fire,  shouting,  picking  up  various  objects  from  the 
ground  and  throwing  them  high  into  the  air,  while  the  other 
members  stand  up  shouting  and  yelling.  The  women  are  led 
around  the  fire  once.  Upon  arriving  at  the  starting  point,  the 
ropes  are  taken  off  them,  and  all  the  participants  of  the  la' q!  ale' I 
ceremony  go  back  to  their  seats.  Then  one  of  the  Fathers  intones 
his  hereditary  dance  song.  This  is  the  signal  for  all  members  to 
commence  dancing.  The  dancers  hardly  leave  their  places.  They 


FRACHTENBERG]     CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES  OF  QUILEUTE  INDIANS      33 l 

merely  raise  their  feet  alternately,  stamping  them  against  the 
ground,  and  swing  their  arms  up  and  down.  During  the  dancing 
every  member  of  the  Tlokwali  renders  his  special  dance  song  in 
herited  by  him  from  his  father  or  mother  and  owned  by  his  family. 
After  the  song  of  the  last  member  has  been  rendered,  the  thirsty 
members  drink  from  the  bucket  which  is  carried  around  by  the 
Water-carrier.  After  this,  food  is  served,  and  this  concludes  the 
ritual  for  the  fifth  night.  Before  their  departure  the  members  are 
addressed  by  some  very  old  man  thus:  "Tomorrow  morning  all 
of  you  must  arise  early.  Bathe,  but  do  not  eat!  Repair  at  once 
to  the  Tlokwali-house.  Those  who  do  not  wish  actually  to  partici 
pate  in  the  Tlokwali  dance  will  go  to  the  house  directly;  the  others 
will  assemble  outside." 

On  the  morning  of  the  sixth  and  last  day  the  old  men,  women, 
and  children  who  do  not  dance  the  real  Tlokwali  dance  go  directly 
to  the  Tlokwali-house  where  they  are  painted,  as  on  the  previous 
nights,  by  the  Face-painter.  All  other  members  assemble  in  front 
of  the  house,  where  a  large  fire  has  been  kindled.  Around  this 
fire  they  dress  themselves  for  the  ceremony  to  c£me.  All  prepara 
tions  must  be  made  around  a  fire,  as  otherwise  the  participants 
would  die.  The  dancers  (L!dkut!e'qale'l  "about  to  obtain  a  guar 
dian-spirit  from  the  woods")  paint  their  faces  according  to  the  de 
signs  owned  by  them.  The  entire  body  is  covered  with  red  ochre. 
On  their  heads  and  shoulders  they  place  the  appropriate  Tlokwali 
head-bands  and  shoulder-rings,  made  of  shredded  cedar  bark. 
These  ornaments  are  painted  either  entirely  black  or  red,  or  partly 
black  and  partly  red,  or  not  colored  at  all.  The  men  wear  short 
blankets  around  their  groins,  while  the  women  wear  skirts  made  of 
shredded  cedar  bark.  All  wear  their  hair  tied  in  a  knot  in  front 
over  the  forehead.  Each  dancer  sticks  into  his  body  pins  made  of 
elk-  or  bear-bone,  about  eight  inches  long  and  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
thick,  sharpened  at  one  end  and  decorated  at  the  other  end  with 
human  hair  or  strands  of  shredded  cedar  bark.  Some  use  arrows, 
knives,  and  seal-harpoons  for  that  purpose.  These  are  stuck  into 
the  skin  of  the  back,  forearm,  calves,  and  thighs  of  the  legs,  or 
through  the  upper  lip.  The  knives,  arrows,  and  harpoons  are  owned 


332  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  23,  1921 

4ft 

by  those  who  use  them ;  the  pins  are  the  guardian-spirits  of  certain 
individuals,  and  must  be  returned  to  them  at  the  close  of  the 
ceremony.1  According  to  information  given  me,  these  lacerations 
were  by  no  means  painful  and  special  care  was  taken  that  no  blood 
vessel  should  be  pierced.  Upon  extracting  these  instruments  of 
torture  the  wounded  spot  is  merely  rubbed  and  blown  upon. 

As  soon  as  the  dancers  have  finished  their  preparations,  the 
Fathers  who  are  inside  the  house  begin  to  sing.  Thereupon  the 
dancers,  walking  singly,  enter  the  house,  imitating  the  actions 
of  the  wolf  and  whistling,  throwing  sticks  and  stones  at  the  guests, 
and  tearing  up  anything  that  comes  into  their  hands.  All  non- 
dancing  members  beat  their  feet  against  the  floor  or  benches.  The 
house  is  dark,  there  is  no  fire  in  it,  and  the  skylights  are  down. 
As  soon  as  all  dancers  are  inside,  the  skylights  are  raised.  Then 
all  members  of  the  Tlokwali  begin  to  dance,  singing  the  dance 
songs  which  belong  to  their  families.  After  all  the  songs  have  been 
exhausted,  the  fire  is  kindled,  and  the  Tlokwali  dancers  return  the 
pins,  etc.,  to  their  rightful  owners.  Preparations  are  then  begun 
to  serve  food  to*the  assembled  guests.  While  the  food  is  being 
cooked,  the  person  who  gave  the  Tlokwali  distributes  the  presents 
among  the  members.  The  food  is  then  served,  and  this  ends  the 
Tlokwali  ritual  in  honor  of  a  plain  member. 

The  Tlokwali  ritual  for  a  full  member  is  the  same  as  the  corre 
sponding  hunting  ritual,  except  that  the  arrangements  of  the 
house,  dances,  etc.,  are  identical  with  the  arrangements  during 
the  initiation  of  a  plain  member  (as  below). 

THE  HUNTING  SOCIETY  (HUNTING  RITUAL) 

This  society,   as  has  been   stated  before,   is   the  only  native 

Quileute  ceremonial  organization,  and  its  ritual  has  served  as  a 

basis   for   all   other   rituals.     The  members   of  this  society  were 

divided  into  two  categories,  those  having  a  guardian-spirit  (qeL/a'ak- 

1  The  self-inflicted  tortures  of  these  dancers  may  be  compared  to  similar  acts 
performed  by  the  hawl'nalaL  (Kwakiutl)  and  hl'Ltaq  (Nootka)  dancers.  Within  more 
recent  years  the  Quileute  dancers  were  wont  to  inflict  upon  themselves  the  most 
gruesome  lacerations,  with  the  result  that  the  Government  stepped  in  and  forbade  the 
holding  of  the  Tlokwali  ceremonial. 


FRACHTENBERG]     CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES  OF  QUILEUTE  INDIANS      333 

wa'ltfeqa')  and  plain  members  (tda'a  "ripe").  Its  guardian  spirits 
were:  Elk,  Night  Owl,  Horned  Owl,  White  Owl,  Deer,  Bow,  Arrow, 
Ta'bale  (a  two-headed  dog),  etc.  The  color  applied  to  the  rattles, 
facial  painting,  etc.,  of  the  members  of  this  society  was  dark  brown. 
Membership  was  restricted,  and,  for  that  reason,  the  ceremony 
was  held  in  any  common  house  large  enough  to  accommodate  all 
members. 

The  duration  and  type  of  the  initiation  ceremony  varied  in 
accordance  with  the  manner  in  which  a  membership  was  obtained. 
The  initiation  of  a  plain  member,  that  is  to  say  of  one  who  either 
purchased  membership  by  merely  arranging  for  the  ceremonial 
and  its  attendant  feasts  and  gifts  or  in  whose  behalf  membership 
was  purchased  by  the  family,  lasted  two  days.  The  initiation  of 
a  qeL/a'akwa'lt/eqa',  that  is  to  say,  of  one  who  had  obtained  a 
qeL/a'akwal  guardian-spirit,  lasted  six  days.  We  shall  first  describe 
the  ceremonial  connected  with  the  initiation  of  a  novitiate  who  had 
obtained  a  guardian-spirit. 

As  soon  as  a  man  (or  woman)  receives  a  hunter's  guardian- 
spirit,  he  becomes  sick.  A  shaman  is  consulted  who,  by  the  color, 
ascertains  the  kind  of  sickness.  The  color  being  dark  brown,  the 
shaman  declares  the  patient  to  have  been  rendered  sick  by  a  guar 
dian-spirit  of  the  qeL/a'akwdl  (the  Hunting  Society).  Thereupon 
a  messenger  is  sent  to  all  other  members  of  this  society  inviting 
them  to  come  to  the  house  of  the  patient  and  to  lend  their  assistance 
in  curing  him.  The  members  arrive  in  the  evening,  wearing  the 
appropriate  head-rings,  and  their  faces  are  painted  by  the  Face- 
painter.  The  full  members  are  painted  in  accordance  with  the 
instructions  received  from  their  guardian-spirits.  Following  are 
the  most  common  designs:  the  whole  face  dark  brown;  the  upper 
part  brown  and  the  lower  white;  the  upper  half  brown  with  vertical 
red  stripes  (the  red  lines  represent  showers)  and  the  lower  half 
white;  the  whole  face  red  (representing  blood)  with  white  stripes 
on  both  cheeks  (these  stripes  represent  showers).  Plain  members 
have  only  dark  brown  dots  painted  on  their  cheeks. 

When  the  members  are  assembled,  the  novitiate  (he'ts!a:q  "he 
is  sung  for")  lies  on  a  mat  and  is  covered  with  blankets.  The  mat 


334  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  23,  1921 

Is  placed  between  two  fireplaces  in  which  fires  are  burning.  In 
ancient  times  any  one  could  attend  to  the  fire ;  in  more  recent  years 
this  function  became  the  sole  privilege  of  the  Fire-keeper.  At 
the  head  of  the  novitiate  is  placed  a  wooden  or  cedar  bark  repre 
sentation  of  his  guardian-spirit;  while  on  both  sides  of  him  sit  two 
women  called  qwa'ye'l  (" cheeks")  and  chosen  because  of  their  power 
ful  guardian-spirits.  These  women  receive  substantial  presents  for 
their  services,  and  they  serve  as  transmitters  between  the  novitiate 
and  the  assernbled  members.  The  novitiate,  as  has  been  stated 
before,  is  sick  "from  his  guardian-spirit";  hence,  he  can  not  talk 
nor  sing  loud.  These  two  women  sitting  near  him  listen  to  his 
songs  and  repeat  them  in  loud  tones.  In  front  of  the  fireplaces  is 
a  long  bench  on  which  sit  all  those  members  of  the  order  who  have 
a  guardian-spirit;  a  similar  bench  is  placed  behind  the  mat  of  the 
novitiate,  and  this  is  occupied  by  the  female  members  who  have 
acquired  the  qeL/a'akwal  guardian-spirit;  plain  members  occupy 
the  side  benches,  and  spectators,  whenever  such  are  admitted,  are 
seated  on  benches  near  the  entrance. 

As  soon  as  all  are  seated,  the  first  two  male  (and  full)  members 
of  the  order,  each  having  a  ceremonial  rattle  in  his  hand,  begin 
their  hunting-song.  They  are  followed  by  the  next  pair  and  so  on 
until  all  members  who  own  qeL/a'akwdl  songs  have  rendered  them. 
Then  the  female  members  of  the  order  render  their  songs,  and 
are  followed  in  turn  by  the  plain  members.  The  two  qwa'ye'l 
women,  sitting  on  both  sides  of  the  novitiate,  sing  last.  Only  one 
drum  is  used  during  this  ritual.  After  all  songs  have  been  rendered, 
preparations  are  made  for  the  la' q! ale' I  ceremony.  Its  purpose 
is  to  "wake  up"  the  novitiate.  All  full  members,  male  and  female, 
arise,  and  the  first  two  members  (male)  at  the  left  end  of  the  bench 
take  up  the  rattles  and  repeat  their  previous  song.  While  they 
sing,  the  novitiate  begins  to  tremble  and,  turning  over,  lifts  his 
right  hand  and  with  his  index  finger  points  towards  the  ceiling, 
thereby  indicating  a  desire  to  be  "taken  up  to  the  mountains" 
where  he  had  obtained  his  guardian-spirit.1  (If  the  novitiate  does 

1  If  the  novitiate  received  a  guardian-spirit  "from  the  woods  or  river,"  he  does  not 
point  at  the  "hills"  but,  supported  by  the  two  women,  crawls  around  the  fireplace. 


FRACHTENBERG]     CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES  OF  QUILEUTE  INDIANS     335 

not  raise  his  finger,  the  ceremony  which  follows  is  omitted.)  After 
having  raised  his  finger,  the  novitiate  relapses  into  unconsciousness, 
and  the  two  women  cover  him  with  the  blankets.1  Thereupon 
the  members  of  the  society  begin  to  dance,  employing  the  songs 
owned  by  their  respective  families.  The  order  in  which  these  songs 
and  dances  are  rendered  is  the  same  as  during  the  Tlokwali  (see 
above).  Each  member  holds  in  his  hand  a  short  stick,  about  four 
feet  long  and  painted  dark  brown  (a  color  obtained  by  mixing 
black  with  red  ochre).  These  canes  are  used,  because  the  hunters, 
on  their  expeditions,  always  carry  sticks.  During  these  dances 
the  actions  of  hunters  and  various  game  animals  are  imitated. 
After  the  dance  food  is  served  by  the  family  of  the  novitiate,  and 
thus  ends  the  ritual  for  the  first  night. 

On  the  next  day,  early  in  the  morning,  the  young  male  members 
of  the  order  come  to  the  house  of  the  novitiate  and  build  a  large 
platform  over  the  mat  occupied  by  the  novitiate.  In  the  evening 
all  members  assemble,  sing,  and  perform  the  waking  up  ceremony, 
as  on  the  first  night.  This  time  the  ceremony  is  successful,  for  as 
the  singing  continues  the  novitiate  turns  over  on  his  right  side  and, 
attended  by  the  two  women,  crawls  (on  his  back)  around  the  fire, 
going  from  right  to  left.  Upon  arriving  midway  between  the  two 
fireplaces,  he  jumps  up  on  the  platform.2  He  is  soon  joined  by 
all  those  members  of  the  order,  male  and  female,  who  have  obtained 
a  guardian-spirit  "from  the  hills."3  This  action  on  the  part  of 
these  members  represents  their  journey  to  the  hills,  the  land  of 
their  guardian-spirits.  They  take  along  a  drum,  and  each  member 
sings  his  particular  ceremonial  song.  All  lie  on  their  backs  (ex 
cept  the  two  gwa'ye'l  women  who  attend  to  the  novitiate)  with 
their  feet  hanging  down  and  gradually  move  farther  up  into  the 
platform.  Inasmuch  as  the  journey  is  supposed  to  be  a  hard  one, 

1  The  women  stay  with  him  day  and  night. 

2  Inasmuch  as  the  novitiate  is  supposed  to  be  sick,  he  does  not  jump  of  his  own 
volition;   he  is  lifted  up  by  his  guardian-spirit. 

3  If  the  novitiate  has  a  guardian-spirit  "from  the  river  or  woods,"  this  ceremony, 
which  represents  the  journey  of  the  members  to  the  land  of  their  guardian-spirits,  is 
omitted.     The  novitiate  crawls  instead  around  the   fire,  increasing  each  night  the 
distance  traversed,  while  the  other  members  having  similar  guardian-spirits  stand  up, 
shake  or  swing  their  arms,  and  shout. 


AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  23,  1921 

the  distance  traveled  on  this  night  is  not  more  than  about  six  feet. 
Every  now  and  then  one  of  the  "travelers"  will  say,  "It  is  hardly 
foggy  enough  in  the  mountains."  Thereupon  those  members  who 
remained  below  would  throw  mats,  rags,  etc.,  into  the  fire,  causing 
it  to  smoke.  Occasionally  a  plain  member  would  shout  at  the 
gwa'ye'l  women,  "How  are  you  folks  up  there?"  And  the  answer 
would  come  back,  "We  are  just  beginning  our  homeward  journey." 
Gradually  the  travelers  turn  around  and,  still  crawling  on  their 
backs,  come  to  the  edge  of  the  platform,  until  their  heads  touch 
the  same  and  their  hair  hangs  down.  Then  they  turn  around  once 
more  and  sit.  up  with  their  feet  hanging  down.  Thereupon  they 
begin  to  shake  their  heads  to  and  fro,  while  those  below  beat  their 
canes  against  the  floor  and  shout.  Suddenly  they  slip  down  and, 
as  each  man  and  woman  conies  down,  those  below  seize  and  hold 
them  by  their  waists.  The  travelers  stretch  out  their  arms,  where 
upon  some  of  the  plain  members  throw  to  them  dried  salmon  or 
large  slices  of  elk  and  deer  meat,  which  they  in  turn  throw  back  to 
the  plain  members.  The  meat  or  salmon  not  caught  on  the  first 
throw  is  permitted  to  lie  on  the  ground  and  is  removed  later  on. 
This  ceremony  is  called  haya'walwaxat  ("throwing  to  one  another") 
and  the  only  explanation  given  for  it  was  that  "  the  people  who  have 
such  guardian-spirits  play  in  this  manner."  Upon  its  termination 
the  usual  songs  and  dances  are  rendered.  The  travelers,  still 
weak  and  weary  from  their  long  journey,  participate  in  the  dancing, 
but  are  supported  by  the  plain  members.  After  the  dancing  is 
over,  the  travelers  are  released,  and  all  seat  themselves.  The  food 
employed  in  the  throwing  ceremony  is  then  served,  and  the  ritual 
for  the  second  night  comes  to  an  end. 

During  the  third  and  fourth  nights  the  ritual  follows  the  same 
course  as  on  the  second  night  with  the  exception,  however,  that  on 
each  of  these  nights  the  travelers  traverse  a  greater  distance  and 
stay  away  for  a  longer  period. 

On  the  fifth  night  only  a  limited  number  of  ceremonial  songs 
are  rendered.  These  are  followed  by  the  alitsi'dice'l  ceremony 
("giving  the  food").  The  significance  and  phases  of  this  ceremony 
are  the  same  as  those  of  a  similar  ceremony  performed  during  the 


FRACHTENBERG]     CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES  OF  QUILEUTE  INDIANS     337 

Tlokwali  and  need  not  be  described  here  (see  above,  p.  329).  After 
this  ceremony  is  over,  the  first  two  (male)  full  members  sitting  on 
the  right  end  of  the  bench  stand  up,  and  while  the  other  members 
of  the  order  shake,  sing,  and  produce  various  sounds,  the  uncon 
scious  novitiate  and  his  companions  roll  over  and  begin  to  crawl 
until  they  reach  a  place  situated  between  the  two  fireplaces.  There 
they  are  seized  by  some  of  the  other  members,  stood  up,  and  held 
by  their  waists,  while  they  repeat  the  throwing  ceremony  described 
above  (see  p.  336).  At  the  end  of  this  ceremony  all  begin  to  dance. 
When  the  dancing  is  over,  the  novitiate  sings,  in  a  loud  voice,  the 
song  given  him  by  his  newly  acquired  guardian-spirit  and  follows 
it  up  with  a  similar  dance,  at  the  conclusion  of  which  the  members 
resume  their  seats  and  the  novitiate  returns  to  his  mat.  While 
food  is  being  prepared  for  the  assembled  members,  the  young  girls 
and  boys  (children  of  some  members  of  the  order  and  admitted  as 
spectators)  render  some  dances  during  which  they  imitate  the 
actions  of  a  stalked  elk.  Some  of  the  dancers  dance  in  an  erect 
position,  others  stoop  down,  while  still  others  dance  on  their  knees. 
Occasionally,  an  aged  spectator  will  join  the  dancing  "elks,"  acting 
as  if  he  were  hunting  them.  This  aged  man  (or  woman)  usually 
belongs  to  what  might  be  called  "the  begging  fraternity"  and  he 
uses  this  dance  as  an  opportunity  for  begging.  He  will  point  at 
some  rich  man  or  woman,  while  dancing,  and  the  individuals  thus 
selected  reward  him  with  a  small  gift.  As  soon  as  the  food  is  ready, 
it  is  served.  After  having  partaken  of  the  food  the  members  go 
home,  but  before  they  depart  they  are  invited  by  some  old  man  to 
assemble  on  the  next  morning.  The  invitation  is  usually  couched 
in  the  following  words:  "Arise  ye  early  in  the  morning.  We  will 
emerge  from  the  woods." 

On  the  morning  of  the  sixth  day  the  platform  and  the  bench  in 
front  of  the  two  fireplaces  (on  which  the  male  full  members  of  the 
order  have  been  sitting)  are  removed.  Outside  the  house  a  big 
fire  is  built  around  which  assemble  all  full  (but  young)  members 
and  dress  themselves  for  the  coming  ceremonial  dance.  The  old 
men,  women,  and  plain  members  go  directly  into  the  house.  The 
full  members  put  on  the  head-rings  of  the  order,  and  paint  their 


AMERICAN   ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  23,  1921 

faces  according  to  the  respective  designs  owned  by  them.  Upon 
a  signal  from  the  leaders  (the  Fathers)  they  enter  the  house  crawling 
on  their  knees  and  acting  like  elks.  Inside,  they  stand  up  and 
dance  their  ceremonial  dances.  While  dancing  they  lock  their 
arms  and  extend  the  same,  thereby  denoting  that  they  are  looking 
for  food.  Thereupon  the  plain  members  throw  to  them  salmon, 
salmon-eggs,  berries,  bags  of  oil,  etc.  This  food  is  thrown  back  to 
the  owners.  After  this  throwing  ceremony  some  more  dances  are 
executed.  Then  all  members  go  to  their  seats,  and  the  young 
boys  and  girls  perform  again  the  dance  of  the  elks.  During  this 
performance  the  presents  given  away  by  the  novitiate  are  dis 
tributed,  after  which  food  is  served.  This  concludes  the  ritual  of 
the  qe'L/a'akwal  or  Hunting  Society. 

In  the  evening  of  the  same  day  the  novitiate  and  the  two  qwaye'l 
women  visit  the  houses  of  the  several  members  and  beg  for  food. 
This  food  is  given  away  at  a  feast  held  the  next  day.  If  the  feast 
does  not  take  place,  the  food  is  divided  among  the  several  members 
of  the  order.  No  explanation  for  this  custom  could  be  obtained; 
it  is  probable,  however,  that  it  represents  the  appreciation  by  the 
individual  members  of  the  food  eaten  at  the  expense  of  the  novitiate. 

Originally  the  Hunting  Society  did  not  have  any  distinct  officers. 
But  with  the  introduction  of  the  Tlokwali  similar  officials  were 
instituted  during  the  Hunting  ritual.  Thus,  the  Hunting  Society 
came  to  have,  in  addition  to  the  Face-painter,  two  Fathers,  a  Fire- 
keeper,  and  a  Water-carrier. 

A  special  degree  of  relationship  seems  to  have  existed  between 
the  members  of  the  Hunting  Society  and  those  of  the  Whaling 
Society  (see  below).  Thus,  all  whaling  men  were  invited  to  and 
participated  in  the  Hunting  ritual,  and  vice  versa.  The  two 
ceremonials  were  closely  related,  and  the  members  of  these  two 
societies  applied  to  one  another  the  reciprocal  term  keli'qfwayi'ts/ilat 
"staying  on  one  side  of  the  mountain."  This  close  affiliation  be 
tween  the  two  societies  may,  perhaps,  be  due  to  the  fact  that,  ac 
cording  to  a  general  belief,  the  guardian-spirits  of  these  societies 
dwell  in  close  proximity.  The  guardians  of  the  Hunting  Society 
live  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  mountains  while  those  of  the 


FRACHTENBERG]     CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES  OF  QUILEUTE  INDIANS     339 

Whaling  Society  dwell  on  the  western  slopes.  Furthermore,  these 
guardian-spirits  can  understand  one  another  perfectly  well.  Con 
sequently  the  whaling  men,  participating  in  a  Hunting  ritual,  are 
assigned  to  special  seats  and,  during  every  throwing  ceremony,  they 
first  throw  the  food  to  the  novitiate  and  his  associates.  In  return 
the  whaling  members  invite  the  hunters  to  their  ritual,  and  the 
latter  perform  the  same  functions.  The  songs  rendered  by  these, 
as  it  were,  ex-officio  members  are  those  of  their  own  fraternity. 

The  initiation  of  a  new  member  (child  or  wife)  through  purchase 
lasts  only  two  or  three  days,  according  to  the  amount  of  food  at 
the  disposal  of  the  prospective  novitiate's  parents  (or  husband). 
On  the  evening  of  the  day  set  for  the  initiation  ceremony  the 
members  of  the  society  appear  at  the  designated  house  and  are 
painted  by  the  Face-painter.  They  sing  and  dance  in  the  usual 
fashion  and  leave  right  after  the  food  has  been  served.  The  same 
performance  takes  place  on  the  second  night.  On  the  third  morning 
they  assemble  at  a  different  house.  After  painting  their  faces  and 
putting  on  the  proper  headgear  they  dance  into  the  house  of  the 
novitiate.  Upon  the  completion  of  the  dance,  presents  and  food 
are  distributed  among  them  by  the  parents  or  husband  of  the 
novitiate,  and  this  completes  the  ritual. 

In  very  recent  years  the  members  of  the  Hunting  Society  who 
danced  into  the  house  of  the  novitiate  carried  bags  of  peanuts 
which  they  threw  all  over  the  floor.  These  peanuts  represented  the 
excrement  of  the  elk  and  were  picked  up  and  eaten  by  those  members 
who  did  not  participate  in  the  dance. 

THE  TSAYEQ  (FISHING  RITUAL) 

Membership  in  this  society,  as  in  the  two  previous  orders,  could 
be  obtained  either  by  acquiring  a  special  guardian-spirit  or  through 
purchase.  A  person  acquiring  such  a  guardian-spirit  became  a 
good  fisherman,  seal-hunter,  canoe-maker,  and  (in  the  case  of  a 
woman)  basket-maker.  Hence  membership  was  confined  to  such 
persons  as  followed  these  occupations.  The  most  important 
guardian-spirits  of  the  Tsayeq  were  the  Seal,  Spear,  Canoe,  Land- 
Otter,  Salmon,  Kingfisher,  and  Sawbill.  The  color  of  this  order 


34°  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  23,  1921 

was  red.  The  rattles  used  during  the  Tsayeq  ceremonial  were 
made  of  vine-maple  and  were  painted  red  or  red  with  white  stripes. 
These  rattles  were  of  a  special  shape.  The  drums  were  the  same 
as  those  used  during  the  other  ceremonials.  Special  head-rings, 
made  of  shredded  cedar  bark  and  dyed  red,  were  worn  only  by 
members  who  had  acquired  a  guardian-spirit.  Such  members 
displayed  facial  paintings  of  distinct  designs  suggested  to  them  by 
their  guardian-spirits.  Three  such  designs  were  described  to  me 
as  follows:  the  lower  part  of  the  face  red  with  three  perpendicular 
stripes  on  each  cheek  (representing  three  men  in  a  canoe) ;  the  same 
design  but  with  only  one  perpendicular  stripe  on  each  cheek;  the 
whole  face  red  with  a  wide  white  stripe  in  the  center.  Common 
members  painted  red  dots  or  stripes  on  their  cheeks.  Originally 
only  two  Fathers  and  a  Face-painter  had  charge  of  this  ritual,  but 
in  recent  years  the  offices  of  Firemen  and  Water-carrier  were 
added.  We  shall  describe  first  the  initiation  ritual  of  a  new  member 
who  had  received  a  guardian-spirit  belonging  to  the  Tsayeq  Society. 

As  soon  as  the  guardian-spirit  enters  the  body  of  the  prospective 
member  he  becomes  sick.  A  shaman  is  called  in  who,  noticing  the 
color  of  the  sickness  to  be  red,  declares  the  patient  to  be  sick  "from 
a  Tsayeq  guardian-spirit."  The  patient  imparts  this  information 
to  his  relatives  who  decide,  on  the  same  night,  to  initiate  him  into 
this  society.1 

Messengers  are  sent  to  all  members  of  the  Tsayeq  Society  with 
instructions  to  assemble  the  next  day  in  the  house  of  the  novitiate. 
They  come,  and  their  faces  are  painted  by  the  Face-painter  who 
holds  this  office  only  during  the  Tsayeq  ritual.  After  all  are 
seated  the  members,  led  by  the  two  Fathers,  begin  to  sing  their 
Tsayeq  songs.  Then  the  Fathers  begin  to  wake  up  the  novitiate 
who,  as  during  all  other  rituals,  lies  on  a  mat  and  is  attended  by 
two  qwa'ye'l  ("cheeks")  women.  As  the  Fathers  walk  up  to  the 
novitiate,  they  sing  and  dance.  The  other  members  are  standing 
and  swing  their  hands  (with  the  palms  open)  from  right  to  left, 
repeating  the  words  hoo'c  hoo'c  hoo'c  after  each  verse.  A  stick  is 

1  Swan,  who  witnessed  this  ceremonial,  was  misled  as  to  its  character.  He  calls  it 
a  strictly  healing  ceremonial.  See  James  G.  Swan,  Indians  of  Cape  Flattery,  Smiths. 
Contr.  to  Knowl.,  vol.  xvi,  p.  73. 


FRACHTENBERG]     CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES  OF  QUILEUTE  INDIANS     341 

placed  in  the  ground  on  the  right  side  of  the  novitiate.  This 
stick  is  supposed  to  have  been  put  there  by  the  guardian-spirit. 
As  the  song  of  the  Fathers  progresses,  the  novitiate  moves  and, 
crawling  on  his  back,  he  goes  a  little  way  to  the  right.  Soon  he 
rises  and,  supported  by  one  of  the  gwa'ye'l  women,  he  dances, 
swinging  his  open  palms  from  right  to  left  and  singing  in  a  low 
voice  the  song  given  him  by  his  guardian-spirit.  This  song  is  re 
peated  in  loud  tones  by  the  qwa'ye'l  women,  who  assist  the  noviti 
ate  (he'ts!d:q)  back  to  his  mat.  The  ritual  for  this  night  is  con 
cluded  with  a  general  feast. 

The  ritual  follows  the  same  course  on  the  second,  third  and 
fourth  nights,  excepting  only  that,  during  each  night,  the  novitiate 
traverses  a  greater  distance  in  crawling  on  his  back  around  the 
fireplace. 

On  the  fifth  night  the  novitiate  sits  up  and  is  ready  to  receive 
some  food.  The  members  enter  as  on  the  previous  nights  and  are 
painted  by  the  Face-painter.  A  platter  of  boiled  black  salmon  is 
placed  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  and  in  front  of  this  platter,  facing: 
the  novitiate,  sits  some  exceptionally  powerful  shaman.  Behind 
the  platter  are  seated  two  other  shamans  of  lesser  prowess.  Then 
the  feeding-ceremony  takes  place  which  is  identical  with  the  similar 
ceremony  during  the  Hunting  ritual  (see  p.  329).  The  novitiate  is 
joined  by  four  or  five  other  members  who  have  guardian-spirits, 
and  they  are  also  fed.  Upon  receiving  the  food,  they  become  un 
conscious  and  are  " awakened"  by  the  Fathers.  While  the  Fathers 
sing,  the  novitiate  and  his  companions  arise  and  crawl  clear  around 
the  fire.  After  they  have  returned  to  their  starting  point  the 
novitiate  reveals  to  his  fellow-members  the  dance  and  song  given 
him  by  his  guardian-spirit,  whereupon  he  goes  back  to  his  mat. 
Inasmuch  as  the  novitiate  has  not  yet  regained  his  full  strength  he 
begins  to  sing  a  song  called  wala 'axwala's  "pounding  with  the 
stick."  While  rendering  this  song,  he  puts  his  hand  on  the  stick, 
which  had  been  placed  in  the  ground  on  the  very  first  night  by  his 
guardian-spirit.  Contact  with  this  cane  gradually  gives  him  back 
his  former  strength.  After  the  song  is  over,  food  is  served,  and  the 
members  leave  the  house.  They  are,  however,  invited  by  some 
old  man  to  appear  early  on  the  next  morning. 


342  AMERICAN   ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  23,  1921 

In  the  morning  the  full  members  and  those  that  want  to  join 
them  appear  in  front  of  the  house  and  there,  standing  around  a  big 
fire,  they  paint  their  faces  and  put  on  the  proper  head-rings.  The 
other  members  and  the  old  men  and  children  go  directly  into  the 
house.  The  dancers,  headed  by  the  Fathers,  enter  the  house, 
crawling  on  their  knees  and  shaking  their  heads  back  and  forth. 
No  songs  are  sung;  only  yells  are  given  forth,  while  those  on  the 
inside  pound  the  floor  with  their  sticks.  As  the  dancers  enter,  the 
room  is  dark.  After  all  are  in  the  skylights  are  raised.  Then  all 
members  begin  to  sing  and  dance,  swinging  their  hands  from  right 
to  left.  At  the  end  of  each  verse  the  women  shout  "hoo'c  hoo'c, 
hoo'c"  After  all  dances  have  been  rendered,  the  presents  are  dis 
tributed,  food  is  served,  and  the  ritual  comes  to  an  end. 

The  ritual  arranged  in  order  to  purchase  membership  for  a 
child  or  wife  lasts  only  two  days.  The  members  appear  as  on  the 
other  occasion,  and  the  ceremony  consists  mainly  of  songs  and 
dances  rendered  by  the  individual  members.  Each  day,  upon  the 
completion  of  the  songs  and  dances,  the  novitiate  (hetfaya'sldqa' 
"he  is  sung  for")  led  by  a  woman  (tci'a"tilat  "protector  of  people") 
walks  once  around  the  fireplace,  in  order  that  the  members  may 
look  upon  him  and  come  to  know  him.  No  presents  are  given 
during  the  shorter  ritual. 

THE  WHALE-HUNTER  SOCIETY  (WHALING  RITUAL) 

This  society  was  introduced  among  the  Quileutes  by  the  Makah 
Indians,  and  its  ritual  was  modeled  wh.olly  after  the  native  Hunting 
ceremonial  with  which  it  shares  in  common  special  features  (see 
above,  p.  332).  The  color  of  this  society  is  the  same  as  that  of  the 
Hunting  order,  but  somewhat  darker,  and  the  full  members  of  the 
Hunting  Society  were  always  present  at  the  ceremonial  of  this 
order,  and  vice  versa.  This  may  have  been  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  two  orders  had  fewer  members  than  any  of  the  other  societies, 
although  the  reason  given  by  the  Indians  is  quite  different.  Mem 
bership  into  this  society  was  open  only  to  those  who  had  acquired  a 
guardian-spirit,  and  could  not  be  purchased  as  was  the  case  in  the 
other  ceremonial  societies.  The  reason  for  this  exclusiveness  given 


FRACHTENBERG]     CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES  OF  QUILEUTE  INDIANS     343 

to  me  was  ''that  young  children  and  women  could  not  be  expected 
to  be  good  whale-hunters."  Furthermore,  this  society  was  con 
sidered  the  best  of  all,  and  its  members  had  a  special  standing  in 
the  social  life  of  the  Quileutes.  Only  whale-hunters  could  belong  to 
it.  Its  special  guardian-spirits  were  the  Whale,  a  rope  made  of 
sinews,  any  of  the  whale-hunting  implements,  etc.  The  ritual 
lasted  five  nights,  and  only  two  Fathers  and  the  Face-painter 
officiated.  The  drum  used  during  the  ritual  was  the  same  as  that 
employed  on  all  other  occasions,  but  the  rattles,  two  in  number,  had 
a  distinct  shape  and  were  colored  dark  brown.  The  members 
wore  special  head-rings,  made  of  shredded  cedar  bark  and  colored 
dark  brown.  The  same  color  was  applied  to  the  facial  paintings, 
and  the  following  designs  obtained  most  frequently:  the  whole 
face  painted  dark  brown ;  the  same  but  with  white  dots  (this  design 
belonged  to  such  members  as  had  a  certain  mythical  being  for  their 
guardian-spirit) ;  the  same  but  with  three  slanting  white  stripes 
on  either  cheek;  dark  brown  heavy  circles  around  the  eyes. 

Inasmuch  as  this  society  had  but  few  members,  the  arrange 
ment  of  the  house  during  an  initiation  ceremony  was  somewhat 
different.  To  begin  with,  there  was  only  one  fireplace.  The 
benches  were  built  clear  against  the  walls,  the  members  of  the 
Whale-Hunter  Society  occupying  those  on  the  left  side  of  the  house 
and  half  of  the  benches  in  the  back  of  the  house.  Members  of  the 
Hunting  Society  occupied  the  other  half  of  the  benches  placed  at 
the  back  part  of  the  house.  The  benches  to  the  right  were  reserved 
for  such  spectators  as  were  admitted  to  witness  the  initiation 
ceremony. 

As  soon  as  the  shaman  ascertains  that  the  proposed  novitiate 
is  sick  "from  a  guardian-spirit  belonging  to  the  Whale-Hunter 
Society,"  messengers  are  sent  to  all  members  inviting  them  to 
participate  in  the  initiation  ritual.  The  novitiate  lies  on  a  mat 
placed  in  the  corner  of  the  house  and  is  attended  by  two  qwa'ye'l 
women.  Behind  the  mat  two  posts  are  driven  into  the  ground  and 
over  these  is  stretched  a  piece  of  rope,  made  of  twisted  and  braided 
cedar  limbs.  This  rope  is  used  only  in  cases  where  the  novitiate 
has  obtained  a  rope  for  his  guardian-spirit.  As  soon  as  the  members 


344  AMERICAN   ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  23,  1921 

have  been  painted  by  the  Face-painter,  the  invited  members  of  the 
Hunting  Society  place  in  the  middle  of  the  room  a  dish  full  of  whale- 
oil.  Thereupon  each  member  of  the  Whale-Hunter  Society  steps 
forth  and,  scooping  up  some  of  the  oil  in  the  palms  of  his  hands,  he 
either  drinks  it  or  rubs  it  over  his  face.  This  oil  represents  the 
water  of  the  whaling  guardian-spirit.  This  ceremony  over,  all  sit 
down,  whereupon  the  Fathers  intone  their  family  songs  pertaining 
to  this  ceremonial.  Each  member  renders  his  own  song;  the  Hunt 
ing  members  sing  the  songs  of  their  own  society.  After  all  songs 
have  been  rendered,  the  novitiate  is  " awakened,"  in  exactly  the 
same  manner  as  is  done  during  the  Hunting  ritual  (see  above,  p.  334). 
As  soon  as  he  " wakes  up,"  that  is  to  say,  as  soon  as  he  turns  over 
and  sits  up,  two  members  of  the  society  lift  him  up  on  the  rope. 
Seated  there  he  spreads  out  his  arms,  thus  expressing  hunger. 
Thereupon  one  of  the  members  of  the  Hunting  Society  throws  to 
him  some  dried  fish,  meat,  or  a  bag  containing  oil.  The  novitiate 
catches  it  and  throws  it  back.  This  throwing  ceremony  is  re 
peated  several  times  and  is  followed  by  general  dancing,  during 
which  the  Whale-Hunters  render  the  dancing  songs  of  their  order, 
while  the  Hunters  employ  the  songs  that  pertain  to  their  own 
ceremonial.  The  Whale-Hunters  render  their  songs  first,  and  these 
are  followed  by  the  songs  and  dances  of  the  Hunting  Society. 
When  the  dancing  is  over,  the  novitiate  is  helped  down  from  the 
rope,  whereupon  he  sings,  in  a  weak  voice,  the  song  of  his  guardian- 
spirit.  This  song  is  repeated,  in  louder  tones,  by  the  two  Cheek- 
women.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  song  the  members  sit  down  and 
are  served  with  food. 

If  the  guardian-spirit  of  the  novitiate  is  not  a  rope,  the  waking 
up  ceremony  varies  somewhat.  The  novitiate  is  awakened  and 
crawls  sideways  around  the  fire.  Arriving  at  the  starting  point, 
he  is  made  to  stand  up  by  some  of  the  members  and  renders  his 
song.  The  throwing  ceremony  is  omitted.  The  sideways  crawling 
represents  the  swimming  of  the  whale. 

The  ceremony  varies  but  little  on  the  second,  third,  and  fourth 
nights.  On  each  of  these  nights  the  novitiate  moves  farther  from 
one  end  of  the  rope  to  the  other  (in  case  his  guardian-spirit  is  a 
rope)  or  else  crawls  more  times  around  the  fireplace. 


FRACHTENBERG]     CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES  OF  QUILEUTE  INDIANS     345 

On  the  fifth  night  the  novitiate  sits  up  and  is  joined  by  three 
or  four  other  members  of  the  society.  First  the  feeding  ceremony 
(see  p.  329)  takes  place.  After  the  novitiate  and  his  associates 
become  unconscious  the  Fathers  wake  them  up  in  the  same  way 
as  is  done  during  the  Hunting  ceremonial.  The  novitiate  and  his 
associates  arise  and,  on  their  sides,  slide  around  the  fireplace.  Then 
they  stand  up  and  are  supported  by  some  other  members  of  the 
order,  while  the  remaining  participants  in  the  ceremonial  wash 
their  faces  in  or  drink  the  oil  placed  in  the  oil  dish  by  the  members 
of  the  Hunting  Society.  After  the  last  man  has  washed  his  face, 
the  throwing  ceremony  takes  place.  During  this  ceremony  the 
members  of  the  Hunting  Society  throw  dried  salmon,  meat,  or 
bags  of  oil  to  the  members  of  the  Whale-Hunting  order.  At  the 
conclusion  of  this  ceremony  the  novitiate  sings  his  song  and  dem 
onstrates  the  dance  given  him  by  his  newly  acquired  guardian- 
spirit.  The  guests  are  served  with  food  and  are  asked,  prior  to 
their  departure,  to  appear  again  early  in  the  morning. 

In  the  morning  they  assemble  around  a  big  fire,  built  outside 
of  the  house,  and  around  this  fire  they  paint  their  faces  and  put 
on  their  proper  head-rings.  The  spectators  and  the  members  of 
the  Hunting  Society  do  not  assemble  around  the  outside  fire,  but 
go  directly  into  the  house  which  at  first  is  darkened.  The  novitiate 
on  this  day  joins  his  fellow  members  outside  the  house.  Led  by 
the  two  Fathers  the  novitiate  and  his  fellow  members  enter  the 
house,  imitating  the  motion  of  the  whale.  This  is  accomplished 
by  stooping  down  and  raising  the  hands  above  the  head  and  lowering 
them.  All  walk  in  sideways.  As  soon  as  the  last  man  is  inside  the 
skylights  are  raised  and  the  members  of  the  Hunting  Society  pour 
some  oil  into  a  dish  which  is  used  by  the  members  of  the  Whale- 
Hunter  order  either  to  wash  their  faces  or  for  drinking  purposes. 
This  is  followed  by  the  throwing  ceremony  which,  in  turn,  is  fol 
lowed  by  general  dancing.  The  dancers  jump  up  and  down  singing 
the  following  refrain:  "When  I  go  out  to  sea,  my  mouth  opens  and 
shuts."  At  the  conclusion  of  the  dancing,  the  members  sit  down 
and  presents  are  set  aside  for  them  by  the  family  of  the  novitiate. 
The  ritual  is  concluded  with  a  feast. 


346  AMERICAN   ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  23,  1921 

THE  WEATHER  SOCIETY 

This  society  is  of  Quinault  origin.  The  initiation  ceremony, 
although  based  upon  the  ceremonial  of  the  native  Hunting  Society, 
shows  certain  important  and  distinct  features.  It  lasts  five  nights 
as  do  all  other  ceremonials.  To  become  a  member  of  this  society 
one  has  to  receive  a  weather  guardian-spirit.  Such  a  spirit  enables 
its  owner  to  change  the  weather  and  to  bring  a  dead  whale  ashore. 
Non-initiates  can  be  present  at  the  ceremonial  merely  as  spectators. 
The  color  of  the  society  is  light  brown  (tan),  and  the  head-rings 
used  by  the  members  during  the  ceremonial  are  dyed  in  this  color. 
The  same  color  is  applied  to  the  facial  painting  which,  however, 
does  not  show  such  a  multiplicity  of  designs  as  obtains  in  other 
ceremonials.  The  faces  are  painted  wholly  brown  or  merely  with 
brown  dots  or  .stripes.  The  only  official  of  this  ceremonial  is  the 
Face-painter.  No  rattles  are  used  to  accompany  the  songs  and 
dances. 

As  soon  as  the  shaman  ascertains,  by  means  of  the  color,  that 
the  patient  is  sick  ''from  a  guardian-spirit  belonging  to  the  Weather 
Society,"  the  members  of  this  society  are  invited  to  the  house  of 
the  patient  who  becomes  a  novitiate.  They  file  in  singly  and  are 
painted  by  the  Face-painter.  The  novitiate  sits  on  a  mat  spread 
somewhere  on  the  floor,  while  the  members  seat  themselves  on  the 
benches.  After  all  are  seated  the  novitiate  (tcala' layouts  lit  "maker 
of  the  tcala'layo'")  renders  the  songs  which  he  obtained  from  the 
newly  acquired  guardian-spirit.  In  turn  the  other  members  render 
their  songs,  following  them  up  with  the  dances  of  this  order.  This 
concludes  the  ceremonial  for  the  first  night.  No  food  is  served. 

On  the  second  night  each  member  brings  some  food  for  the 
guardian-spirit  of  the  novitiate.  This  food  is  placed  in  some  corner 
of  the  house,  and  each  succeeding  night  more  is  added  to  it.  After 
depositing  the  food,  the  members  take  their  seats  and  go  through 
the  same  ceremonies  as  on  the  first  night. 

The  same  ceremonies  are  repeated  on  the  third,  fourth,  and 
fifth  nights.  On  the  morning  of  the  sixth  day  the  members  and 
the  novitiate  go  first  to  a  different  house  where  they  put  on  the 


FRACHTENBERG]     CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES  OF  QUILEUTE  INDIANS      347 

appropriate  head-rings  and  paint  their  faces.  Then,  led  by  the 
novitiate,  they  repair  to  the  house  where  the  ceremonial  took  place 
during  the  preceding  nights.  They  file  in  singly,  singing  and 
dancing.  The  songs  rendered  during  this  ceremonial  are  meaning 
less,  as  far  as  the  Quileutes  are  concerned.  The  words  are  Quinault, 
having  been  taken  over  with  the  main  features  of  the  society. 
Each  member  sings  the  song  of  his  family.  At  the  conclusion  of 
the  last  song  all  sit  down,  and  the  novitiate  distributes  the  gifts 
set  aside  for  this  occasion.  Thereupon  the  food  which  was  brought 
by  the  individual  members  on  the  previous  nights  as  an  offering 
to  the  guardian-spirit  is  served,  and  thus  ends  the  ceremonial  of 
the  Weather  Society. 

CONCLUSION 

The  above  descriptions  of  the  main  features  of  the  Quileute 
ceremonial  societies,  while  only  sketchy,  are  sufficiently  clear  to 
give  us  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  several  elements  which  enter  into 
the  composition  of  these  societies.  As  has  been  stated  in  the  intro 
ductory  chapter,  the  internal  evidence,  the  linguistic  nomenclature, 
and  other  factors  point  strongly  to  the  fact  that,  of  the  five  Quileute 
ceremonial  societies,  four  have  been  adopted  from  adjacent  tribes 
(three  from  the  Makah,  one  from  the  Quinault)  and  only  one  (the 
Hunting  Society)  is  of  native  origin.  On  the  other  hand,  the  rituals 
of  these  societies,  while  adhering  closely  in  the  main  to  the  corre 
sponding  rituals  of  the  borrowed  orders  (as  is  particularly  the  case 
in  the  Wolf,  Fishing,  and  Whaling  rituals),  have  been  made  to 
agree,  in  their  more  detailed  aspects,  with  the  original  ritual  of  the 
native  society.  The  introduction  among  the  Quileute  Indians  of 
the  non-native  societies  has  taken  place  within  comparatively 
recent  years  and  may  have  been  due  to  one  of  the  following  three 
factors:  the  importation  of  slaves  in  large  numbers  from  the  north 
and  south,  the  frequent  intermarriages  which  took  place  between 
the  Quileute,  Makah,  and  Quinault  Indians,  or  the  frequent  friendly 
visits  which  these  three  tribes  interchanged  from  time  to  time. 

The  Tlokwali  and  Tsayeq  Societies  are  undoubtedly  of  Kwakiutl 
origin,  but  their  rituals,  as  practised  by  the  Quileutes,  show  vast 
divergences,  which  are  due  to  the  fact  that  they  have  been  intro- 


34-8  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  23,  1921 

duced,  not  directly  from  the  Kwakiutl,  but  through  the  medium 
of  the  Nootka,  particularly  the  Makah  Indians.  A  detailed  in 
vestigation  of  the  Makah  societies  and  their  rituals  will  bear  testi 
mony  to  this  fact.  Pending  such  an  investigation  the  original, 
native  features  of  the  Quileute  ceremonial  societies  will  have  to 
remain  a  matter  of  speculation. 

However,  certain  features  are  so  unique  as  to  justify  us  in  the 
assumption  that  they  represent  native,  and  not  borrowed,  elements. 
The  most  important  of  these  is  what  may  be  properly  termed  the 
professional  element,  a  feature  which,  thus  far,  finds  a  parallel  to 
some  extent  in  the  esoteric  fraternities  of  the  Zuni  Indians.1  Each 
Quileute  society  is  a  professional  organization;  that  is  to  say  only 
persons  following  the  same  occupation  could  belong  to  it,  and  each 
order  is,  so  to  speak,  representative  of  one  of  the  four  most  important 
occupations  followed  by  the  Quileute  Indians.  Thus  the  qeL/a'ak- 
wdl  is  the  society  for  hunters,  the  sibd'xuldyo'  for  whale-hunters, 
the  tsfd'yeq  for  fishermen,  and  the  Ld'kwali  for  warriors.  The 
tcala'layo' ,  the  Weather  Society,  is  the  latest  introduction  and  may 
have  received  its  occupational  mark  through  the  enormous  influence 
wielded  by  the  medicine  men,  of  which  we  shall  speak  later.  It  goes 
without  saying  that  these  societies  were  introduced  not  at  once  but 
singly,  and  that  each  soon  after,  or  perhaps  simultaneously  with, 
its  adaptation  became  the  order  of  persons  following  a  certain  occu 
pation.  We  have  the  testimony  of  the  informants  themselves  for 
the  order  in  which  these  societies  were  introduced  among  the  Qui 
leute  Indians.  They  are  conscious  of  the  fact  that  the  sibd'xuldyo' 
was  the  first  of  the  non-native  societies  to  be  introduced ;  next  came 
the  Ld'kwali  and  tsfd'yeq;  and  these  were  followed  in  turn  by  the 
tcald'ldyo'.  The  Hunting  Society  (qeL/a'akwdl)  was  in  existence 
among  the  Quileute  Indians  from  times  immemorial  and  to  this 
society  only  those  who  were  habitual  hunters  could  belong.  The 
Whaling  ritual,  as  it  was  practised  by  the  Makah,  was  a  ritual  ex 
clusively  for  whale-hunters;  and  the  Quileutes  merely  followed  an 
established  precedent  as  well  as  the  spirit  of  the  borrowed  society 

1  M.  C.  Stevenson,  "The  Zuni  Indians,"  Twenty-third  Ann.  Report  of  the  Bureau 
of  American  Ethnology,  pp.  407  ff. 


FRACHTENBERG]     CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES  OF  QUILEUTE  INDIANS      349 

when,  upon  its  introduction,  they  reserved  it  for  whale-hunters 
and  their  families.  Later  on,  when  the  Ld'kwali  and  tsfa'yeq  were 
introduced,  the  first  became  the  society  for  warriors,  and  the  second 
the  order  of  fishermen  and  (after  the  Quileutes  took  to  seal-hunting) 
seal-hunters.  The  assignment  of  "  weather-persons  "  to  the  tcala'- 
layo*  may  have  been  due  to  the  fact  that  among  a  littoral  geople 
like  the  Quileute  Indians  special  respect  was  paid  to  persons  who 
claimed  to  possess  tamanos  power  over  the  weather.  This  dis 
tinction  may  also  be  due  to  an  inherent  feature  in  the  original 
Quinault  society  which,  however,  for  lack  of  data  from  that  tribe, 
we  are  at  the  present  unable  to  determine.  The  gradual  breaking 
down  of  the  native  mode  of  living  resulted  in  a  gradual  wiping  out 
of  the  distinct  professional  character  of  some  of  these  societies, 
as  can  be  seen  by  the  fact  that  in  later  times  canoe-makers,  basket- 
makers,  and  others  were  also  included  in  the  tsla'yeq.  However,  the 
two  oldest  orders  (the  Hunting  and  Whale-hunting  Societies)  always 
kept  their  distinctive  professional  features  even  to  within  very 
recent  times;  and  all  present  living  members  of  these  two  extinct 
societies  were  either  actual  hunters  or  whale-hunters.  Further 
more,  the  professional  emphasis  laid  upon  these  two  societies  was 
responsible  for  the  special  feeling  of  fraternization  which  existed 
between  its  respective  members  (see  p.  342).  It  is  also  highly 
probable  that  originally  only  the  male  members  of  the  tribe  could 
belong  to  any  of  these  societies  and  that  the  privilege  of  enrolling 
the  female  relatives  of  a  male  member  also  was  granted  only  grad 
ually  and  more  as  a  matter  of  courtesy.  This  privilege  was  in  the 
course  of  time  extended  until,  aided  by  a  desire  to  insure  as  much 
wealth  to  the  future  generations  as  possible,  it  became  universal. 
However,  the  two  eldest  societies  kept  on  granting  full  member 
ship  only  to  the  male  members  of  the  tribe. 

Another  important  feature  of  the  Quileute  ceremonial  societies 
is  the  manner  of  initiating  a  full  member,  that  is  to  say  of  one  who 
had  received  a  special  guardian-spirit  presiding  over  a  particular 
order.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  whole  initiation  ritual  re 
volves  around  the  curing  by  his  fellow-members  of  the  novitiate 
who  had  been  rendered  sick  through  the  entrance  of  the  guardian- 


35°  AMERICAN   ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  23,  1921 

spirit  into  his  body.  Of  course,  this  is  not  to  be  taken  literally, 
for  the  "  patient  "  was  at  no  time  actually  sick.  What  the  Quileute 
meant  to  express  by  this  term  was  probably  the  unconscious  con 
dition  of  the  novitiate  who  had  partaken  of  the  powers  of  his 
guardian-spirit,  a  condition  which  disappeared  as  soon  as,  through 
the  exorcisms  of  the  shaman  and  of  the  fellow-members  of  the  order, 
the  novitiate  arrived  at  an  understanding  of  the  qualities  of  the 
guardian-spirit.  The  mystery  surrounding  the  quality  and  powers 
of  the  guardian-spirit  was  particularly  dispelled  by  the  disclosures, 
on  the  part  of  the  shaman,  of  the  "color"  of  that  spirit;  in  other 
words  the  novitiate  began  to  feel  more  at  ease  by  learning  the  type 
of  his  particular  guardian-spirit,  while  the  continued  incantations 
of  his  fellow-members  rendered  him  more  normal.  This  healing 
phase  of  the  ceremonial  is  described  distinctly  by  Swan  as  existing 
among  the  Makah  Indians.1  However,  this  need  not  be  taken  as 
an  indication  that  eventually  this  Quileute  feature  goes  back  to  a 
Makah  origin.  The  belief  in  shamanistic  powers  was  exceedingly 
strongly  developed  among  the  Quileute  Indians,  and  the  shaman 
exercised  an  enormous  influence  over  their  daily  and  ceremonial 
life.  Consequently,  it  seems  highly  plausible  that  this  healing 
phase  constituted  one  of  the  main  features  of  the  original  Quileute 
society  and  that,  fostered  by  the  shamans,  it  became  a  similarly 
important  feature  in  the  other,  introduced  secret  societies. 

The  third  important  point  suggesting  itself  in  connection  with 
the  ceremonial  societies  of  the  Quileute  Indians  is  the  probable 
determination  of  the  ultimate  geographic  distribution  of  this  tribe. 
At  the  present  time  the  Quileute  Indians  occupy  a  small  strip  of 
the  northwestern  coast  of  Washington  where  they  were  found 
one  hundred  years  ago,  while  their  only  other  cognates,  the  Chim- 
akum  Indians,  were  found  in  a  much  farther  northeastern  direc 
tion,  on  Puget  Sound,  in  Snohomish  County.  Quileute  mythology 
is  particularly  silent  on  the  question  of  the  original  home  of  these 
two  tribes.  It  does,  however,  speak  of  the  separation  of  the  two 
tribes  as  the  result  of  a  great  flood.  The  myth  recounting  this 
event  is  as  follows: 


1  James  G.  Swan,  op.  cit.,  loc.  cit. 


FRACHTENBERG]     CEREMONIAL  SOCIETIES  OF  QUILEUTE  INDIANS     35 l 

In  early  times  the  Quileute  and  Chimakum  lived  together.  During 
the  great  flood  the  people  took  to  their  canoes,  floating  in  them 
until  they  reached  the  crests  of  the  Olympic  Mountains.  Here  they 
tied  them  to  trees  and  rocks.  One  night  a  great  storm  arose,  and 
many  of  the  canoes  tore  loose  from  their  moorings.  These  canoes 
drifted  in  a  northeastern  direction  until  they  reached  the  present 
site  of  the  towns  of  Chimakum  and  Port  Ludlow.  Here  the  people 
abandoned  their  canoes  and  settled  down,  becoming  in  the  course 
of  time  the  Chimakum  tribe.  The  people  whose  canoes  were  not 
loosened  remained  on  the  Olympic  Mountains  until  the  flood  sub 
sided.  The  receding  waters  carried  them  and  the  canoes  towards 
the  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  They  finally  stopped  at  Quileute 
Prairie1  and  became  known  as  the  Quileute  (and  Hoh)  Indians.2 

Inasmuch  as  this  myth  has  little  historical  probability,  the 
original  location  of  the  Quileute  tribe  must  be  looked  for  at  a 
point  eastward  of  their  present  possessions;  in  other  words,  the 
Quileute  Indians  must  have  lived  originally  farther  inland.  And 
a  clue  that  this  may  have  been  the  case  is  furnished  by  the 
importance  and  antiquity  of  the  Hunting  Society  of  this  tribe. 
Such  a  society  with  its  attending  ritual  could  have  developed 
only  among  a  group  of  people  whose  main  occupation  was  hunt 
ing  and  whose  chief  supplies  of  food  were  obtained  through  this 
mode  of  living.  The  probability  of  this  theory  is  further  sub 
stantiated  by  the  fact  that  the  Quileute  language  contains  a 
great  number  of  different  verbal  stems  expressing  the  various 
forms  of  the  act  of  hunting.  Now,  the  only  regions  in  this  particu 
lar  neighborhood  abounding  in  game  of  all  descriptions  lie  much 
farther  east  of  the  present  site  of  the  Quileute  reservation,  which  is 
practically  on  the  western  slopes  of  the  Olympic  Range.  To  this 

1  A  prairie  about  forty-five  miles  south  of  Cape  Flattery  and  six  miles  eastward 
from  the  present  Quileute  reservation. 

2  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  Makah  Indians  account  in  the  same  way  for 
their  separation  from  the  main  body  of  the  Nootka  tribes.     Furthermore,  the  same 
phonetic  elements  differentiating  the  Nootka  from  the  Makah  dialect  (b  >  m;   d  >  n) 
differentiate  also  the  speech  of  the  Quileute  from  that  of  the  Chimakum,  two  features 
which,  in  addition  to  many  other  lexical,  morphological,  and  structural  correspondences 
go  a  long  way  toward  encouraging  us  in  the  assumption  of  an  ultimate  genetic  relation 
ship  between  Wakashan,  Chimakuan,  (and  Salish). 


352  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  23,  1921 

range  the  Indians  repair  even  now  for  the  purpose  of  hunting,  and  it 
is  here  that  we  must  look  for  the  original  home  of  the  Quileute 
tribe  Furthermore,  that  the  Quileute  Indians  have  only  within 
comparatively  recent  times  become  fishermen  par  excellence  is  dem 
onstrated  beyond  doubt  by  the  following  three  facts:  First,  in 
ancient  times  these  Indians  knew  nothing  of  their  present  intricate 
system  of  hereditary  fishing-grounds,  this  institution  having  been 
introduced  after  their  arrival  at  the  mouth  of  the  Quileute  River; 
secondly,  traces  of  old  Indian  settlements,  and  even  potlatch- 
houses,  have  been  found  as  many  as  twenty  miles  farther  to  the 
east  and  the  Quileutes  still  remember  the  native  names  of  these 
villages;  thirdly,  the  names  of  the  most  important  sea-fish  are  not 
of  native  origin,  having  seemingly  been  borrowed  from  the  Quinault 
(Salish)  language.  Of  course,  it  is  also  quite  probable  that  the 
original  Hunting  ritual  may  have  been  a  general  tribal  ceremonial, 
with  the  identical  aspects  and  in  the  same  sense  as,  for  example, 
are  the  tribal  rituals  among  the  Creek,  Osage,  and  Omaha  Indians. 
However,  the  above  mentioned  three  facts  militate  strongly  against 
this,  and  we  may  be  justified  in  the  assumption  that  (i)  the  Quileute 
Indians  were  an  inland  people,  (2)  their  chief  occupation  originally 
was  hunting,  and  (3)  their  social  and  ceremonial  life  was  greatly 
modified  by  this  occupation. 
NEW  YORK  CITY 


omaer 

R      Gaylord  Bros. 
m  Makers 

p     Stockton,  Calif 
MT.  JAN  21.  1908    " 


